Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

UK Retailers Fail To Raise Christmas Sales For First Time Since Global Economic Crisis Amid Brexit Fears

British retailers failed to increase their Christmas sales in 2018 for the first time since the depths of the global financial crisis a decade ago, adding to signs of an economic slowdown ahead of Brexit.

With parliament in deadlock less than three months before Britain leaves the European Union, consumer spending is fading fast, exposing the weakness of many major retailers who are having to work even harder to win sales and also adapt to the migration to online shopping.


The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said its members reported zero year-on-year total sales growth in December, the worst performance for the month since 2008.

The flat figure was down from growth of 0.5 per cent in November and 1.4 per cent in December 2017.

Like-for-like sales, which strip out changes in store space, dropped by 0.7 per cent, the biggest fall since October 2017 excluding distortions caused by the timing of the Easter holidays.

“This comes despite some retailers desperately attempting to generate sales through slashed pricing, which has seemingly not been enough to encourage shoppers,” said Paul Martin, a partner at accountants KPMG who sponsor the survey.

A broader measure of consumer spending from Barclaycard showed spending grew by just 1.8 per cent in December, down from an increase of 3.3 per cent in November.

It was the slowest rise since March 2016 and represented a real-terms contraction after taking inflation into account.

Falling spending on clothing and at supermarkets was partly offset by strong rises in purchases at pubs and restaurants, which is not included in the BRC data.

Thursday’s figures chimed with recent downbeat reports from some of Britain’s biggest retailers.

Trading updates released on Thursday (3) showed that Marks & Spencer suffered another quarter of falling underlying sales in both clothing and food, while department store Debenhams is looking for fresh funding after its sales tumbled.

John Lewis, the employee-owned biggest department store, said demand for beauty products and women’s clothing had enabled it to nudge up sales but its gross profit margins remained under pressure in the “intensely competitive pricing environment”.

“I would say that on average the promotional activity was something in the region of 20 to 30 per cent higher than last year,” Paula Nickolds, managing director of John Lewis department stores, told reporters.

Debenhams Chief Executive Sergio Bucher said the country’s second-biggest department store group would have to find another 80 million pounds of costs to cut in order to protect its profits after slashing prices.

“The market, in general, has been very, very competitive,” he told reporters.

Tesco Stands Firm

Tesco, Britain biggest retailer, emerged as one of the few winners from the festive period after its own-brand basic ranges combined with premium offerings to fend off rivals at the top and bottom of the market and keep its tills ringing.

It attracted 125,000 more shoppers to its stores this Christmas than last, with December 23 the busiest Sunday in Tesco’s history. In just one hour it served 766,000 customers.

The solid performance stood in contrast to rivals Sainsbury’s and Morrisons which both missed Christmas sales forecasts this week, hit by competition from German discounters Aldi and Lidll.

More For You

Anil Agarwal

Vedanta Resources, which is based in the UK and owned by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal, has been working on reducing its debt. (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Resources signs £438 million refinancing deal

VEDANTA LTD said on Thursday that its parent company, Vedanta Resources, has signed a loan facility agreement worth up to £438 million with international banks to refinance existing debt.

The refinancing move, where old loans are replaced by new ones, often at better terms like lower interest rates, has led ratings agencies such as S&P Global Ratings and Moody's to upgrade their outlook on the company this year.

Keep ReadingShow less
Trump-Getty

Trump said that while deals are being made with some countries, others may face tariffs.

Getty Images

Trump says major trade deal with India may be finalised soon

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Friday said a "very big" trade deal could be finalised with India, suggesting significant movement in the ongoing negotiations between the two countries.

“We are having some great deals. We have one coming up, maybe with India. Very big one. Where we're going to open up India," Trump said at the “Big Beautiful Bill” event at the White House.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mounjaro

Mounjaro, or tirzepatide, is part of a new class of weight-loss medications, with trials showing patients losing an average of 20 per cent of their body weight after 72 weeks.

Reuters

Lilly to sell Mounjaro pens in India as Wegovy enters market

ELI LILLY said on Thursday that it has received approval from India's drug regulator to launch pre-filled injector pens of its weight-loss drug, Mounjaro.

The move gives the company more options to compete with Novo Nordisk, which recently launched its weight-loss drug Wegovy in the country.

Keep ReadingShow less
Grant Thornton's Anuj Chande urges UK firms to tap booming India

Anuj Chande

Grant Thornton's Anuj Chande urges UK firms to tap booming India

INDIAN companies are well placed to support the UK’s economic growth, Eastern Eye has been told by Anuj Chande, partner and head of the South Asia Business Group at Grant Thornton.

He was speaking after the publication of Grant Thornton’s India Meets Britain Tracker 2025: The latest trends in Indian investment in the UK, which was released last week. While companies in India need little encouragement to enter the UK market, the reverse is not true.

Keep ReadingShow less
India-US trade talks collapse over tariff disputes

FILE PHOTO: US president Donald Trump and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi shake hands as they attend a joint press conference at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 13, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque.

India-US trade talks collapse over tariff disputes

TRADE talks between India and the US have hit a roadblock over disagreements on import duties for auto components, steel and farm goods, Indian officials with direct knowledge said, dashing hopes of reaching a deal ahead of president Donald Trump's July 9 deadline to impose reciprocal tariffs.

The deadlock marks a sharp shift from earlier optimism, following Trump's claim that New Delhi had proposed a "no tariffs" agreement for American goods, and officials from both sides suggesting India could be among the first countries to strike a deal on the new US tariffs.

Keep ReadingShow less